Non-conformist part 2
We have a compass deep down inside. It's called our heart. And I truly believe we get the most mixed up, and messed up, when we don't follow our heart. We get lost. We get distracted. We try to conform to this world and we end up miserable. Because the only way a square peg will fit into a round hole is if you cut the edges off. And if you do that... if you get rid of some of the stuff that makes you, you... then you might "fit in" but you'll never be happy. The word "conformed" shows up twice in the King James Version of the Bible. Yesterday we took a pretty good look at Romans 12:2. Today let's look at the other verse. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). See the difference? We are warned NOT to be conformed to the world. Because God foreknew and predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son! We shouldn't try to fit in because we were created to stand out! We were created in the image of God, right? But the problem was that we didn't know what He looked like. So we didn't know what WE looked like. That's why Jesus came; to show us the Father. To show us ourselves. Jesus isn't a window into what we might someday be. Jesus is a mirror that shows us who we really are! Because we're already complete in Him. He drew us into Himself on the cross, and He planted Himself in us. He took out any idea of separation that we created when we thought we were His enemies. God arose, and His enemies (that carnal mind, that guilty conscience) were scattered! He took the Law of Moses that was contrary to us, and against us, and He nailed it to the cross. He said, "Stop trying to act like someone your not! Learn of me and you'll learn who you really are. Then you can BE who you really are!" Guys, we have BEEN transformed. And now we can BE transformed (into what we've already been transformed into) by the renewing of our minds. The mind of Christ. The heart of God beating with love in our chests. The only thing that will ever make sense in this eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life is living a life of love. Because that's what this eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life is! It's not about winning the rat race--all that does is makes you king rat. It's about finding that thing that gives you joy unspeakable and doing that thing with every fiber of your being. It's about staying true to yourself, not losing yourself. Society doesn't like individuals. Society likes conformity. But a Son doesn't do what everybody else is doing, just because everybody else is doing it. A Son goes about His Father's business. A Son knows who He is, and behaves accordingly, no matter what anybody else thinks about it. Because a Son knows that His Father loves Him and is well pleased...!